Exploring gender, reducing HIV/AIDS

Abstract

No abstract by author. The following is the author's Introduction:

In part due to a government led by the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) political party, the party largely responsible for achieving independence, Namibia's economy is stable and secure, buoyed by strong GDP growth in the mining sector with diamonds, uranium, and zinc leading the way (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2004). Although classified as a middle income country with a high per capita GDP relative to the region, Namibia still suffers from "enormous [socioeconomic] inequalities inherited at independence" (Government of the Republic of Namibia/United Nations Children's Fund, hereafter known as GRN/UNICEF, 2002, p. 6). According to the World Bank, Namibia has a Gini-coefficient of 0. 7 and the 1998 Human Development Report indicates that "the richest 10 percent of the population receives 65 percent of the income. About half of the population survives on about 10 percent of the average income" (2004). Hence a major task for the government "continues to be the elimination of these disparities between the 13 different language/ethnic groups, between regions and between rural and urban areas" (GRN/UNICEF, 2002, p. 6)

However, exacerbating these inequalities and threatening to reverse many of the socioeconomic gains since the end of apartheid is the deadly specter of HIV/AIDS. Like many of its Southern African neighbors, Namibia has been devastated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, with infection rates hovering around 22. 5 percent among sexually active adults and life expectancy averages plummeting from 58. 8 years in 1995 to 43 years in 2000 [The Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS), 2002 and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2000, as cited by the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture (MBESC) and the Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Employment Creation (MHETEC), 2003]. The government recognizes that HIV/AIDS is not simply a health issue, but one with larger socio-economic implications, as the country's development depends to a large extent on its human capital (MBESC & MHETEC, 2003). As the years have progressed, the pandemic has massively increased demands on social services such as health and welfare, in addition to "stretching coping capacity through its impact on income and costs, psychological effects of illness and deaths, and disruption of family structures" at the household, family, and community levels (Kinghorn, et al., 2002, p. ix)

The hardest hit demographic group are young people aged 10-24 who comprise 60 percent of new HIV infections (MBESC & MHETEC, 2003). Particularly vulnerable are young women and girls due to their low status in Namibian society, greater household burdens, pressures for early marriage, and vulnerability/risk of sexual abuse (Kinghorn, et al., 2002). However, the "proportion of teenagers who are not infected is likely to behigher than assumed by many young people. This is an important message of hope" (Kinghorn, et al., 2002, p. x). Keeping this in mind, Namibia has made young people a priority target group, as they can be more easily reached through HIV/AIDS information, prevention, care, and health promotion programs in educational institutions (MBESC & MHETEC, 2003). Indeed, "more than any other sector, education has opportunities to influence levels of HIV infection among young people, through its direct contact with them in institutions andnon-formal education" (Kinghorn, et al., 2002, p. xi). HIV/AIDS should therefore be considered "core business for every educational institution and professional" (MBESC & MHETEC, 2003, p. 1)

It is against this backdrop that my own personal interest in this area has been forged, first as a U. S. Peace Corps volunteer (1999-2001) and then as a summer intern (2004) for UNICEF Namibia's Adolescent HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (AHPP). When I first arrived in Namibia in October 1999, I had only an inkling of the gravity of the HIV/AIDS situation. It was not until having spent time working alongside Namibians and living in a community where weekly funerals were a common occurrence that HIV/AIDS became something tangible and evident. As a secondary education teacher, I witnessed first-hand the ravages of HIV/AIDS in my school and larger community. Several of my students were HIV/AIDS-affected orphans and their pursuit of education encompassed a struggle for basic survival, as they had no support network to rely upon. Teachers were often on "sick leave" for weeks or months at a time, leaving students in teacher-less classrooms. Due to the remoteness of my school (hence limited access to media messages) and the reluctance of other teachers in discussing issues related to HIV/AIDS, I felt that many students were completely unaware as to even the basics of HIV/AIDS, believing and perpetuating many myths about modes of transmission, origin of HIV, and espousing a certain fatalistic or even unfounded confident attitude (e.g. "I can't/won't catch HIV") regarding their own mortality and invincibility. So although I was primarily an English teacher, I choose to design a curriculum separate from that prescribed by Namibian national guidelines. My lesson plans incorporated HIV/AIDS education into standard listening comprehension, reading, writing, and speaking exercises (primarily dramas) which were ultimately designed to educate my grade 9 and 10 students about the basics of HIV and other STDs; modes of transmission; safer sex practices; explored the links between drugs, alcohol, and risky sexual behavior; and helped to create an open environment for discussion about issues related to HIV/AIDS, including the social stigma surrounding the disease

While my work in the Peace Corps surrounding HIV/AIDS education was primarily in the classroom, as a UNICEF Namibia intern for the Adolescent HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (AHPP), I was involved in a mid-term assessment of the nationwide, peer-facilitated program, "My Future is My Choice, " (MFMC) a participatory life skills intervention for adolescents aged 15+ designed to provide information and training around reproductivehealth issues, HIV/AIDS education, decision making, and communication (United Nations, 2003b). Involvement in this non-formal education program provided insight into how UNICEF, the Namibian government, bilateral stakeholders, implementing partners, NGOs, and members of civil society are joining forces to respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis. In addition, working on the mid-term assessment was an opportunity to explore issues related to my personal academic and professional interests, specifically the impact of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa (Namibia), non-formal education, youth development, and in particular, gender issues and the need for greater gender awareness in HIV/AIDS education and training

As such, this Master's project is a reflection of my experiences, interests, research, recommendations, and conclusions about the importance and interconnectedness of these issues. The following chapters - all set in the geographic context of Namibia - present a brief literature review on the following topics: Chapter One - HIV/AIDS; Chapter Two - Youth; Chapter Three - Education; and Chapter Four - Gender. The culmination of this Master's project is a 5-day training meant to increase gender awareness amongst peer facilitators for the "My Future is My Choice" (MFMC) program, as I believe that greater gender sensitivity is crucial for the fight against HIV/AIDS, especially amongst young people